38122 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 135 / Monday, July 19, 2021 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0032264; 

PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000] 

Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural 

Items: American Museum of Natural 

History, New York, NY 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The American Museum of 

Natural History (AMNH), in 

consultation with the Tohono O’odham 

Nation, has determined that the cultural 

items listed in this notice meet the 

definition of either unassociated 

funerary objects or objects of cultural 

patrimony. Lineal descendants or 

representatives of any Indian Tribe or 

Native Hawaiian organization not 

identified in this notice that wish to 

claim these cultural items should 

submit a written request to the 

American Museum of Natural History. If 

no additional claimants come forward, 

transfer of control of the cultural items 

to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, 

or Native Hawaiian organizations stated 

in this notice may proceed. 

DATES: Lineal descendants or 

representatives of any Indian Tribe or 

Native Hawaiian organization not 

identified in this notice that wish to 

claim these cultural items should 

submit a written request with 

information in support of the claim to 

the American Museum of Natural 

History at the address in this notice by 

August 18, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nell 

Murphy, American Museum of Natural 

History, Central Park West at 79th 

Street, New York, NY 10024, telephone 

(212) 769–5837, email nmurphy@

amnh.org. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

here given in accordance with the 

Native American Graves Protection and 

Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 

3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural 

items under the control of the American 

Museum of Natural History, New York, 

NY, that meet the definition of either 

unassociated funerary objects or objects 

of cultural patrimony under 25 U.S.C. 

3001. 

This notice is published as part of the 

National Park Service’s administrative 

responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 

U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The determinations in 

this notice are the sole responsibility of 

the museum, institution, or Federal 

agency that has control of the Native 

American cultural items. The National 

Park Service is not responsible for the 

determinations in this notice. 

History and Description of the Cultural 

Items 

In 1911, the AMNH purchased one 

medicine basket from Rudolf 

Rasmessen, a Tucson-based curio dealer 

and accessioned it into the collection 

that same year. The empty basket is 

described in Museum records as a 

Papago bear grass medicine basket. It is 

constructed of yucca leaves and plaited 

diagonally. It has an oblong shape 

consisting of rectangular sides with 

rounded corners and a tight-fitting lid 

that is characteristic of Papago medicine 

baskets in general. 

In 1911, AMNH accessioned eight 

medicine baskets and one medicine 

man’s plume that Ms. Mary Lois Kissell 

collected between 1909–1910 as part of 

the Huntington Southwest Expedition. 

This Museum-sponsored initiative 

sought to better understand the peoples 

living in the southwestern United 

States. The baskets and medicine plume 

are all catalogued as ‘‘Papago.’’ 

Kissell collected three baskets and 

one medicine man’s plume in San 

Xavier, Pima County, AZ. The first 

basket from the San Xavier community 

has the customary oblong shape and lid. 

Museum records indicate that the 

original owner emptied the basket of all 

medicine items at the time of purchase. 

Kissell collected the second basket in 

San Xavier, though she indicated it was 

made by an individual in Santa Rosa. In 

her 1916 publication on Pima and 

Papago basketry, Kissell noted that the 

basket contains owl feathers which 

protect from diseases caused by the owl. 

Today, in addition to owl feathers. this 

basket holds prayer sticks, cloth, an 

Apache effigy figure, and a fringed bag 

once used to contain it. Basket contents 

appear to have shifted over time and 

some of these items likely belong with 

other baskets described in this Notice. 

Kissell purchased the third basket from 

a medicine man in San Xavier. The 

basket, which was woven by the 

medicine man’s wife, contains two 

turtle shells (one of which was likely 

fashioned into a rattle), which according 

to Museum records, offered protection 

from diseases caused by the turtle. In 

her 1916 publication on Pima and 

Papago basketry, Kissell wrote that the 

turtle shell has served three generations 

of medicine men. Kissell purchased a 

medicine man’s plume while in San 

Xavier and according to Museum 

records, she placed it inside an empty 

medicine basket that she collected from 

a different medicine man in Santa Rosa. 

The plume consists of two feathers, 

presumably eagle, with string at the 

base. 

Kissell acquired two baskets from ‘‘an 

old medicine woman’’ in Little Tucson, 

Pima County, AZ, one of which she 

describes as a rain basket and the other 

of which contained medicine she 

describes as protecting an infant from 

being appropriated by evil spirits. Both 

baskets have the customary oblong 

shape and lid and one is now empty. 

The other basket contains a white cloth 

and prayer or rain stick. It is not 

possible to clearly link either basket 

with the descriptions provided by 

Kissell. 

Kissell collected two medicine 

baskets from Santa Rosa, Pima County, 

AZ. The first is a medicine man’s basket 

that was made by the wife of the owner. 

Although empty today (except for a 

bundle of twine), the archival record 

indicates that it once contained an 

Apache figure inside ‘‘to keep off 

Apache Indians.’’ It is likely that the 

Apache figure is now stored in a 

Medicine basket from San Xavier 

described above. The second basket is a 

medicine man’s basket that was 

collected by Kissell during her visit to 

Santa Rosa. An archival note indicates 

that it was plaited by the man’s wife and 

purchased empty. Kissell added a San 

Xavier medicine man’s plume to the 

basket after it was collected. The blue 

string inside may have originally been 

tied around the exterior. 

Kissell purchased one medicine 

basket with its contents from a medicine 

man in Covered Wells. It was plaited by 

the man’s mother and is described in 

Museum records as a ‘‘medicine man’s 

basket for bringing rain.’’ The basket 

currently holds pieces of cloth, four 

feathers, and a stick. In her 1916 

publication, Kissell describes other 

items that are not found in the basket. 

In 1911, Carl Lumholtz, a Norwegian 

naturalist, sold three medicine baskets, 

three arrow shaft smoothers and one 

arrow shaft straightener to the AMNH. 

Between 1909 and 1910, Lumholtz was 

commissioned by private individuals to 

explore northwestern Sonora, Mexico, 

and southwestern Arizona. In 1911, he 

sold the items he collected during these 

expeditions to the AMNH. The first 

basket is fashioned of twined and 

plaited agave leaves in an oblong shape. 

The lid has a painted green stripe which 

outlines its top and then divides it into 

two equal halves into which are painted 

two identical squares created by 

alternating red and green lines. A red 

painted stripe outlines the lid’s flap. 

The second basket is catalogued as 

‘‘small basket for keeping painting 

material’’ but it is now empty. It has the 

same oblong shape as the first basket but 

lacks adornment. The third basket, 

while also exhibiting the typical oblong 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 135 / Monday, July 19, 2021 / Notices 38123 

shape, is much longer in length than the 

other two baskets. Lumholtz described 

this basket in his field notebook with 

the following entry: ‘‘Large medicine 

basket in which eagle plumes and other 

sacred paraphernalia of the lady 

Kei[illeg.] are kept. Made by an old 

woman, Papago, at Noolic rancheria, 

Comobabi Range. June 1910.’’ Lumholtz 

also wrote that ‘‘the cover is considered 

as the mat, on which [the basket] stands 

when in use at the solemn occasions.’’ 

According to Museum records, 

Lumholtz, collected the three arrow 

shaft smoothers and the one arrow shaft 

straightener ‘‘from the ancient cemetery 

near Cav-va-xiac Village, where [they 

were] deposited on a grave.’’ 

Information provided during 

consultation with the Tohono O’odham 

Nation indicates that ‘‘Cav-va-xiax 

Village’’ is presently known as Cobabi 

(Kaav Vavhia or Badger Well in 

O’odham) which is situated east of 

Santa Rosa, Arizona. According to 

O’odham custom, visitors to this 

historic site are required to leave an 

offering and given the nature of the 

burial items, it is likely that the arrow 

smoothers and straightener were 

associated with the burial site of an 

O’odham hunter or warrior. 

Based on the Museum’s records and 

consultation with representatives of the 

Tohono O’odham Nation of Arizona, the 

12 baskets and one medicine man’s 

plume collected in Arizona and 

catalogued as Papago are culturally 

affiliated with the Tohono O’odham 

Nation of Arizona. Evidence from 

museum records, scholarly publications 

and information provided during 

consultation indicated that a basket 

became a ‘‘medicine basket’’ once the 

contents, such as artifacts or herbs, were 

placed inside. Only a medicine person 

would have been allowed to handle 

these kinds of baskets and no individual 

had the authority to sell them. The 

medicine and medicine basket belonged 

to families of medicine people and in 

some cases, would have been passed 

down to other members with a gift for 

healing. Even today, when a medicine 

person dies, some of their items are 

buried with them while others are left 

behind. 

Based on the Museum’s records and 

consultation with representatives of the 

Tohono O’odham Nation of Arizona, the 

four items removed from an ancient 

cemetery near Cav-va-xiac Village are 

reasonably believed to have been placed 

with or near individual human remains 

at the time of death or later as part of 

the death rite or ceremony and are 

believed to have been removed from a 

specific burial site of a Tohono 

O’odham individual. 

Determinations Made by the American 

Museum of Natural History 

Officials of the American Museum of 

Natural History have determined that: 

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), 

the three arrow shaft smoothers and one 

arrow shaft straightener described above 

are reasonably believed to have been 

placed with or near individual human 

remains at the time of death or later as 

part of the death rite or ceremony and 

are believed, by a preponderance of the 

evidence, to have been removed from a 

specific burial site of a Native American 

individual. 

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(D), 

the 12 medicine baskets and one 

medicine man’s plume described above 

have ongoing historical, traditional, or 

cultural importance central to the 

Native American group or culture itself, 

rather than property owned by an 

individual. 

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there 

is a relationship of shared group 

identity that can be reasonably traced 

between the four unassociated funerary 

objects and 13 objects of cultural 

patrimony and the Tohono O’odham 

Nation of Arizona. 

Additional Requestors and Disposition 

Lineal descendants or representatives 

of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 

organization not identified in this notice 

that wish to claim these cultural items 

should submit a written request with 

information in support of the claim to 

Nell Murphy, American Museum of 

Natural History, Central Park West at 

79th Street, New York, NY 10024, 

telephone (212) 769–5837, email 

nmurphy@amnh.org, by August 18, 

2021. After that date, if no additional 

claimants have come forward, transfer 

of control of the four unassociated 

funerary objects and 13 objects of 

cultural patrimony to the Tohono 

O’odham Nation of Arizona may 

proceed. 

The American Museum of Natural 

History is responsible for notifying the 

Tohono O’odham Nation of Arizona that 

this notice has been published. 

Dated: July 7, 2021. 

Melanie O’Brien, 

Manager, National NAGPRA Program. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15253 Filed 7–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 

211S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 

SX064A000 21XS501520; OMB Control 

Number 1029–0027] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; General Requirements for 

Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation 

Operations on Federal Lands 

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), 

are proposing to renew an information 

collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before 

September 17, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on 

this information collection request (ICR) 

by mail to the Mark Gehlhar, Office of 

Surface Mining Reclamation and 

Enforcement, 1849 C Street NW, Room 

4556–MIB, Washington, DC 20240; or by 

email to mgehlhar@osmre.gov. Please 

reference OMB Control Number 1029– 

0027 in the subject line of your 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Mark Gehlhar by email 

at mgehlhar@osmre.gov, or by telephone 

at 202–208–2716. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies with an opportunity to 

comment on new, proposed, revised, 

and continuing collections of 

information. This helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. It also helps the 

public understand our information 

collection requirements and provide the 

requested data in the desired format. 

We are soliciting comments on the 

proposed ICR that is described below. 

We are especially interested in public 

comment addressing the following 

issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to 

the proper functions of the OSMRE; (2) 

will this information be processed and 

used in a timely manner; (3) is the 

estimate of burden accurate; (4) how 

might the OSMRE enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 


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